Rhode Island’s Civil War Hospital: Life and Death at Portsmouth Grove, 1862-1865

During the Civil War, thousands of wounded Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners convalesced in a general army hospital in rural Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island. Because of its location on the periphery of the action, Portsmouth Grove Hospital has remained a footnote to the dramatic sweep of Civil War history. However, its story and the stories of the doctors, nurses, patients and guards that gave it life provide a new perspective on the interaction between the army and society in wartime and on life in Civil War America. This study details the experiences of those who received and provided medical care at this fascinating facility, exploring the barbarities of medicine, daily routine in a general army hospital, the role of citizens in providing aid, the later adventures of former patients and staff, and the final resting places of those who died on the grounds.